


total recall | r. braun

by it_wasntme



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Assassination, Childhood Friends, Depression, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Suicide, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/it_wasntme/pseuds/it_wasntme
Summary: "𝙄𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙤.""𝙒𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣'𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝟴 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙙?""𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙝, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨."✦✧✦✧Reiner x Fem!ReaderIt's an absolute privilege to be born into such a high-class family. Your father's a politician, while your mother's family has a reputation for marrying rich. Both are notoriously anti-Eldian, creating a next level hatred amongst the upper-class.Your parents definitely had enemies and they definitely came to bite them in the ass. So now you're left with no one to take care of you except for your godfather.He's fickle and old and boring, but the kids he trains at work aren't. Maybe Uncle Magath isn't all that bad.☆☆☆☆☆☆OR:☆☆☆☆☆☆In which Reiner hopelessly pines and you don't pay him any mind. Well, until he comes back from his mission alone.*aot and all it's characters belong to isayama hajime, i only own the plot and ocs*
Relationships: Annie Leonhart & Reader, Bertolt Hoover & Reader, Colt Grice & Reader, Falco Grice & Reader, Karina Braun & Reader, Marcel Galliard | Berwick & Reader, Pieck Finger & Reader, Porco Galliard & Reader, Reiner Braun/Reader, Zeke Yeager & Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	1. preview

You look at him, disgusted by the sight in front of you. "What? In what timeline would that make sense?"

You can tell he's nervous because he's looking at the ground and twiddling his fingers and you hate that. You've always hated how he played tough and then acted like...like _this._

He looks up at you, peeling his eyes off of his new shoes. "Well, it's not crazy...and Braun is a nice last name, right?"

\---

In which the boy who's had a crush on you since childhood comes back, but he's so different that you're surprised he remembers a shitty promise he made to you.

\---

warnings: 

strong language, mentions of attempted suicide, mention and depiction of depressive states, canon-typical violence, death


	2. ---

"So we're all going to idly stand by as _they_ get to live on? Eldians shouldn't have a choice to become _"honorary Marleyans"_! Either they are or they aren't, and one thing is for sure," Your father spits out. Your mother sighs, draping herself across the lounge, a cigarette lazily hanging out of the corner of her mouth. "Us Marleyans are nothing of the same breed as those scum,"

Your mother closes her eyes, thinking of how good a drink would be right then. "This is all so...drab," She complains. She sits up, looking around the room at all of the faces. "We all sit here in this stuffy room complaining about those damn Eldians. Why don't we just kill them all?"

Your mother stands up, fixing the lace on her dress. "Drop a bomb on them or something...anything to get those wretched beings off of this planet and end this petty feud," 

There's one small clap, then two, then the whole room is clapping. She rolls her eyes and sits down, taking another drag of her cigarette. _'What am I doing here...?'_

Your father stands up and walks over to the lounge, setting a hand on your mother's shoulder. "My lovely wife here understands. We need to take action, not be passive and wait for the government to do it for us!"

There are noises of agreement all throughout the room. Your father clears his throat, straightening his back. "I swear to all of you, within ten years, I will have all the Edians across the world exterminated. No matter the cost,"

Your mother scoffs. _'Eldians...my husband pays more attention to them than me...spending his money on pretty little guns to kill them, instead of getting me jewels,'_

That was the day your father made a deal with almost every aristocrat in Marley. If the government wouldn't kill the Eldians, they would.

\---

"God...What do I do, Nora?" Your mother is fretting. She's waving her hands around, cubic zirconia rings blinging in the sun. It's hot out, only contributing to your mother's anxious sputtering.

Nora looks up from her book, folding down the corner of the page. Leaning back in her rocking chair, she sighs. "Hey, calm down, okay? Come sit down and we can figure this out,"

Your mother pauses and nods. She sits down in the chair next to Nora and rests her head in her hands. "What do I do? I can't be a mother...I'd be horrible."

Nora laughs and rubs your mother's shoulder. "It'll be okay. Just...tell him, I suppose. That's all you can really do,"

Your mother starts to sob, her tears resembling the faux pearls wrapped around her neck. "Oh, Nora...I have to, don't I? But he wouldn't even notice," Your mother sniffles, drying her tears with her hands. "He's not even here half of the time, the baby wouldn't even have a father."

Nora leans her forehead to your mother's and pats her back. "Then I can help with the baby, yeah? I guess it'll have two moms..."

Your mother gives a weak smile before nodding. "I appreciate that, Nora. More than you know,"

\---

"Well, she looks just like you...don't you think?" Your mother offers. Truth be told, you didn't look like either of your parents. But now that you were a few months old, you were starting to develop your own features, your mother praying that your father would be satisfied with how you looked.

Your father sighs and rubs his eyes. "Honey, can't you see I'm busy? Just- that isn't my concern right now, I'll come see in a bit."

Your mother furrows her brow and scoffs. She storms away, careful not to jumble you around too much. "Your bastard father..." She whispers to you, caressing your face as she walks. "He's always 'busy'...I hope he chokes on his steak at a work dinner one night, then he'll really be too busy to speak to us."

She laughs to herself, adjusting your blanket. "I hope you don't end up like him...That'd be my worst nightmare, probably his greatest fantasy. His beautiful, dark, twisted, fantasy." She reaches the living room and sets you in your walker. Reaching in her pocket, she pulls out her lighter and a cigarette. 

"That's what he'd call you, let's hope he doesn't get his way."


	3. -7-

"I won't be hearing it! The last thing he'll want is for our daughter to be around them," Your mother huffs out. She was standing in the entryway, talking to your godfather.

"I'm not saying you should do it if you think it'll start a fight, but she needs to know what their lives are like." He interjects.

"Theo, what happens then? Will she start to pity them or start to hate them like her father does? We have no way of knowing."

Your mother looks at you, watching as you read your book on the living room floor. She turns her head back to the man. "I'm not going to let those... _ideologies_...taint my daughter at such a young age, she's impressionable. Learning tolerance is great, amazing even. But to be tolerant of that type of hatred-"

Your godfather raises his hands in front of him. "If she sees that those who are wrong get what they deserve, will it not bring her a stronger sense of justice? If she see how comfortable they're living in those homes, I'm sure we can raise her up to be like her father, fighting that they get the treatment they _truly_ deserve."

"Our daughter shouldn't be dragged into this at such a young age...She's so young, _too_ young." Your mother offers.

Your godfather nods his head. "I agree...But she'll never find out that they're not like her. Not until the two of you decide that she's old enough," He looks peeks his head around the entryway corner as you mouth the words of your book to yourself. "If I take her just once, just until she's able to meet children her own age, would you be alright with it?"

Your mother looks at you one last time. While it was true that you were hopelessly unsociable for your age, were _Eldian_ children really the best way to remedy that? She looks at your godfather. "Fine. Just once and that's it,"

Your godfather nods slowly in agreement. Your mother speaks again, her tone firm. "If she finds out, she finds out. But I'll only allow her to see them _once_ _ **.**_ Other than that, my husband will throw a fit about it _ **.**_ "

Your godfather nods his head. "Tell him I said 'hello'. Have a nice day now," Your mother nods before waving goodbye to him.

Your mother walks over to you, the soft lace of her dress brushing against your cheek. She crouches down next to you, her buckled heels clicking against the flooring. "Darling, you'll be going to work with your godfather in a few days, are you okay with that?"

You look down at your book, then back at your mother. "I don't mind...as long as I'll have fun," You have a small smile on your face and your mother cups your cheek.

_'Oh, dear.'_ She thinks. _'You're much too young to be like him...'_

_**\---** _

"No, I'm not having any of this. I already agreed to his offer, so we will _not_ be having this immature disagreement." Your mother's stance is unchanging.

Your father furrows his brows, turning the newspaper as he smokes a cigar. "How could you let our daughter come in contact with them? Were you even thinking?"

Your mother scoffs. "You're asking _me_ if _I_ was thinking? I was doing what I thought was best while you weren't here, too busy with work to even help parent your child."

"Your petty rivalry isn't going to affect our daughter. She's too young to know the difference between them and us, just let her enjoy it."

Your father sighs, blowing the smoke out his nose, just the way you liked. "I'm too tired to deal with this now, we'll talk later. Just- I don't think this is in her best interest."

Your mother looks back at your father, fixing the sleeves of her dress.

"Well, I disagree."

\---

"Uncle Magath...I don't think I like it here."

He looks down at you, giving you a tight smile. Dealing with children never was his forte, but it was too late to drop you off back home. "Well, we're almost there. It's always busy here...the train station always has people coming and going." He grabs your shoulders, pulling you in front of him.

"These heathens need to learn how to treat real Marleyans," Magath grumbles under his breath. He pushes you in the direction of the training camp, making sure that no one touches you. Not even a brush against your pinky finger.

It's hot and stuffy and you can feel sweat starting to form on your forehead. You wipe it away, disgusted with the wet feeling on your hand. Magath looks down at you. "We'll be there in less than a minute." He points to a large plot of land, encased with a stone wall. "Right there is where we're going.

Past the stone wall, you can see a large field with...is that barbed wire around it? You squint, trying to get a better look. You were right, it was a large field right behind the wall, guarded with barbed wire.

You give Magath a small nod before he continues to walk, pushing you along in front of him even though there were almost on people there.

Once you're inside the gate, you look and see children who all look close to your age. In the center of the group is a tall boy, most likely in his early teens. He's laughing with the kids, trying to push them off of him.

"Hey, Yeager!" Magath booms out. "Settle down or you're all doing laps,"

The kids all stop jumping around and scramble to line up, shortest to tallest. On one end is a girl with lazy, downturned eyes and a sluggish smile. On the other end is the teen boy, his blond hair parted down the middle and barely ghosting his eyelashes.

Magath walks towards them, not waiting for you to follow. "I have a guest here, introduce yourselves."

The short girl goes first, her voice soft and sweet. "I'm Pieck."

"Annie,"

"The name's Porco,"

"I'm Reiner,"

"My name is Marcel,"

"Just call me Bertholdt..."

"And I'm Zeke, nice meeting you."

You nod at them, pretending that you remembered any of their names. You introduce yourself, looking at Magath and hoping that he would say something. He sighs, clapping his hands to grab everyone's attention. "Well then, everyone do 50 laps. Take too long and you'll do another 30!"

Everyone takes off running, but not before each taking a large bag that was lined up against one of the walls and throwing it over their shoulders. You look up at Magath, fiddling with the edge of your shorts. "I thought you said they didn't have to do laps if they stopped messing around..."

He looks down at you before laughing. "I lied. They're here to get strong, not play around." He goes silent, watching as the children run. He occasionally yells at one of the blond boys, telling him to catch up with everyone else.

You watch as they run, only counting seven people. You look up at Magath, pulling on his sleeve to grab his attention. "Uncle Magath...I thought you worked with a lot of kids. Why are there so few? Where's everyone else?"

Magath looks down at you, clearing his throat. "These kids performed the best out of everyone else. The other cade- students can get in the elite group if they do well enough in their general group." He looks back at the kids, hoping that you didn't notice his slip up. It seemed that you didn't, as your attention was back on the children.

Once everyone was done running laps, Magath made them line up again in the same order. "Okay, maggots. I'm giving you today off, but don't get used to it. Make me regret it and all of you will be running over 300 laps tomorrow, plus the daily regiment."

Everyone nodded, reciting a collective 'Yes, sir' before Magath let them out of formation. They all walked over to lean against the wall, some of them sliding down on the ground, out of breath from running.

\---

"You guys are really fast! I don't think I'd want to race you," You mumble out.

The blond that kept getting yelled at puffed out his chest. "Yeah, we're pretty good huh? The only one who's ever beat me was-"

"Shut up, Reiner. You're the slowest one out of all of us." One of the boys interjects. His hair is slicked back and you think you heard the shortest girl call him 'Pock'.

"No, _Pock_." You were right. "Technically, it's a tie between the two of us." Reiner huffs back.

"What would you know, loser? And don't call me that..."

The blond girl rolled her eyes. "You both suck. You just wanna act tough in front of some new kid when she could probably beat both of you in a race,"

Pock stares at you, then Reiner. "No, Annie. I'm not acting tough, I just don't want to be compared to a low-life like Reiner."

"Hey! Say that to my face!" Reiner spits out.

Porco raises an eyebrow, placing a hand on his hip. "Are you dumb? I'm standing right next to you! How much closer do you want me to be?"

"Oh, I don't know? In my face?"

Porco's mouth drops open and he stares at Reiner with a look that seemed to be a mix of pity and second-hand embarrassment. "Bye- are you actually stupid? You only say 'Say that to my face', when you catch someone talking about you when you're not there! I can't even deal with you, it's actually killing my braincells,"

You stand off to the side, watching as the two boys start to argue. If you weren't so woried about Magath coming over and yelling at all of you, it'd be almost amusing.

"Hey! Guys, quit it. Magath will have our heads if you keep yelling," You look to see who spoke and it's the tall boy. He's all legs with a shaggy haircut, your mother would probably click her tongue at him and frown saying something like 'poor boy needs a proper meal'. He catches your eye and sticks his arm out. "I'm Zeke. I know I already said it before, but it's nice meeting you."

You shake his hand before more yelling ensues, causing Zeke to sigh and walk away, not wanting to get caught up if they were scolded. You watch as the two boys start throwing weak punches, their blows not even making a noise upon impact. They're hitting each other so softly that it almost looks like they're moving in slow motion. Porco's brother walks in to split them up, standing in between the boys.

"You guys are just embarrassing yourselves. Please just- just stop," Marcel sighs. He runs a hand through his hair before pulling Porco away from Reiner.

A lanky brunette steps in, patting Reiner's shoulder. "Maybe the two of you can race? That way we could settle this..."

Pieck nods, a grin growing on her face. "Bertholdt's right! If the two of you race, we can see who's really the slowest. Maybe we could even find out who's the fastest of the group too?"

Porco grimaces. "Well that doesn't even make sense! What if he wins on a fluke or something? Where does that leave me?"

Marcel rolls his eyes. "Oh, I don't know Porco. I'm only 87% sure it would leave you in last place, care to fact check me Bertholdt?"

Bertholdt smiles, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I think you may be right, Marcel. In fact, I'm so positive that you could even bump that 87% up to a good 99% if you really wanted..."

Zeke laughs, slapping Porco on the back. "If you're really faster than Reiner, you won't have to worry right? Unless you're...scared?"

Reiner scoffs. "Yeah, _Pock_. Scared or something?"

"Who do you think you're talking to like that, Brown?"

"It's not Brown! It's _Braun_ , I tell you everyti-"

"Shut up. Go and draw the starting line, I'll draw the finishing one." Annie walks off before anyone could object, going about 200 feet away from everyone else. She crouches down and draws a line in the dirt with her finger.

Pieck runs off to draw the starting line, dragging Reiner and Porco with her. Once she's finished, she cups her hands around her mouth. "Hey, Annie! We're ready when you are,"

Annie nods her head, checking that her line was straight. She raises her hand to show that she was ready.

Pieck hops on each foot, excited to see the race. "Alright! Is everyone ready to see the first, possibly annual, Warrior race?" No one says anything, except for Zeke and Marcel who give weak cheers.

Pieck rolls her eyes and raises her arm.

"On your marks...ready...set..go!"

She drops her arm and Porco and Reiner take off, side by side for nearly the whole race.

Too bad Reiner was a little bit slower than his competitor.


	4. -8-

-warning! a toxic relationship in this ch! strong language towards the end and the mom being a baddie. petty, but still a baddie.

\---

"Happy birthday, darling!" Your mother plants a fat kiss on your cheek and you laugh, feeling the hem of her dress brush up against your legs. She grabs your hand and leads you to the kitchen, having you settle into your spot at the table.

You look around, not seeing your father. "Where's Dad? He'll be here for my party, right?" You look again, this time seeing another absence. "And Nora? Where is she?"

Your mother sighs, cracking an egg into the frying pan on the stove. "He had a business trip, but he said he'll be back just in time." You nod your head, trying to hide your disappointment. "Nora was sick, she'll be back tomorrow, don't worry..."

Your mother flutters over to you, planting a kiss on the top of your head. "Ah, don't be too upset. We'll have fun, just the two of us girls!" You give her a smile before your mother walks away and reaches into the oven, a stack of pancakes piled on a baking sheet.

Your mother dishes up your pancakes and egg before handing you the plate. The two of you eat in silence, just the sound of birds chirping outside filling the dining room.

She takes your plate and sends you upstairs to get changed for your party. You sit on your bed, looking out of your window. You missed those kids that Uncle Magath babysat, what happened to them? Every time you asked your mother she would brush it off, not telling you anything about the kids you had played with.

You hear loud chatter from downstairs and you assume it's the party guests starting to arrive. You pull on the too-frilly dress your mother picked out and slipped on some flats. The chatter is getting louder now, so you rush downstairs, surprised to see how many people were there.

In the center of the room was your mother, glowing and laughing, everyone in the room naturally attracted to her. She has a drink in her hand, probably what loosened her up. You can hear her conversation, something along the lines of:

"Oh, that's an absolutely darling ring! Is it a blue diamond?"

Your mother gives a gentle smile to the woman asking, holding out her hand for her to see. "Yes, it is. Beautiful isn't it?"

One woman grabs your mother's hand, pulling it close to her face. "Ah, it's gorgeous! What carat is this? It's huge..."

Your mother looks back, flustered with the attention. "I believe he said it was 5-carat...a small fortune."

The first woman gasps, holding her hand to her mouth. "Oh wow! Just a 1-carat blue diamond is nearly $200,000! That sounds like more than a small fortune, wouldn't you say?"

Your mother's eyes nearly pop out of her head. She knew her ring was expensive, but not _that_ much. "Well...what can I say? I- um...I suppose he treats us quite well..."

Your mother's friends laugh, still fawning over her ring. Your mother taps on a stranger's shoulder, asking for a cigarette. You squeeze through the warm, perfumed bodies, finally reaching your mother and grabbing her hand just as she was about to light her death-stick.

She looks down at you, unlit cigarette hanging out of her mouth. "Oh, hello honey! Your father just called the phone asking for you," She lifts the lighter to her mouth and pats your shoulder, blowing the smoke over your head. "Go along, now. I wrote the number he called from on the notepad next to the telephone,"

You navigate your way to the telephone in the kitchen, the only place without a crowd. Looking at the notepad, you dial the number and put the phone to your ear, listening to the never-ending ring.

"Ah, you've called back so soon?" His voice is hoarse like he's been yelling a lot.

You nod, almost forgetting that he couldn't see you. "Mom said you were going to be here, where are you?"

Your father sighs on the other end of the phone. "I know and I'm sorry about that, sweetheart. But there's good news, I'll be able to get you a gift from somewhere other than Marley!"

You look down at your feet, frowning. "I don't want anything...Actually, I want one thing. But you can't tell Mom..."

Your father laughs. "Of course, what'll it be?"

You peek around the corner of the kitchen, not wanting your mother to walk in and hear your request. She was sitting on the living room couch, her second drink in hand and laughing with her friends. "OK, I want to see the kids that Uncle Magath works with. I asked Mom but she alw-"

"No."

You paused, why did he sound so mad? "What? You didn't even let me fini-"

"I said no."

You huff, tapping your foot against the kitchen tiles. "I just wanted to see my friends..."

"You think they're your friends? Are you incompetent?!"

You blink slowly, not understanding why he was so upset. "No...I'm not dumb."

"You'll never be seeing them again." He takes a deep breath and you can hear a woman talking in the background. His voice is muffled and there's a small giggle from the woman. When you listen in again, it's silent, the her voice not there anymore.

Your father continues. "The only people who hang around the likes of them are drunkards and those who lose at life. If you're any part of this family, you'll be neither of them." At this point, his voice is stern and slowly rising in volume.

"I won't lose at life just from seeing my friends! I just want to-"

"No!"

You start to tear up and your mother comes walking around the corner, one foot in the kitchen as your father starts to talk again. "We can talk when I get home. Goodbye."

He hangs up, leaving the conversation at that. You run to your mother, burying your face into her dress. She crouches down, kissing your cheeks, and running her hands down your back.

"Oh, what's wrong, honey? I'm sorry he couldn't com-"

You shake your head, crying over her words. "He hung up on me! And he didn't even say 'happy birthday' or 'I love you'."

She furrows her brow, frowning. "He did?! Well, that's just plain mean, yes?" You nod and your mother dries your tears. "Oh, honey. I'm so sorry he did that to you,"

She walks over to the fridge and grabs a cake from inside. It's a soft yellow with eight candles stuck in the top. She sets the cake on the kitchen counter and reaches into one of the drawers, grabbing 2 forks. Patting the spot next to her, she sticks her fork into the cake. "It's your birthday. Let's have some cake,"

You slowly sit down next to her, seeing that she had a full drink next to her. She sighs and takes a bite of the cake without even cutting it. "Don't tell your father we're doing this...he'll blow a blood vessel,"

You stare at the fork in front of you. "But what about everyone here? Won't they get cake too?"

Your mother laughs and takes a sip of her drink, wincing as it goes down. "They won't know if we don't tell them," She reaches into the pocket of her dress and pulls out another cigarette. You stare at her, watching as she inhales the smoke. "What? Did you want one?"

You blink, not speaking. Grabbing your fork, you take a bite of cake so you don't have to answer. Your mother laughs again, this time a sad smile on her face. "Here, try it. I think I had my first cigarette when I was younger than you," She takes another bite of cake, offering her cigarette to you.

You look at the ember red tip, then back to your mother. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But if you don't want to get in trouble, don't worry about it." She takes the cigarette back to her mouth, taking a drag. She offers it back to you. "It's your birthday, no harm in letting you act like an adult just for today."

You hesitantly reach your hand out, pinching the cigarette between your pointer finger and thumb. You slowly lift it to your mouth and breathe in, coughing as you do so. Your mother laughs and takes it back, rubbing circles on your back as you cough.

"Ah, don't worry. It happens to everyone their first time...You'll get better with age."

You just nod, trying to ignore the burning feeling in your chest. You try to get rid of it with a bite of cake, but to no avail. The butter taste only ruins your cake, killing your appetite. Your mother finishes off her drink and teeters back into the living room.

"Well, everyone, thank you so much for coming! I'm aware it was a short...party, but nonetheless, my daughter greatly appreciates that all of you came." Her voice rings out clearly, everyone in the living room silent as she speaks.

It really _was_ a short party, maybe an hour at most. But you had a feeling your mother was tipsy and with your father and Nora gone, there would be no one to supervise the guests. You poke your fork at the cake again, taking another bite.

You were dreading your father's return from his trip.

\---

It's early in the morning when your mother wakes you up. "Come on downstairs after you're dressed, honey. Your father will be here soon and then Nora can make us breakfast,"

You sleepily nod and your mother leaves, her heels tapping against the hardwood floor. You sit up in your bed, surveying your room. It's been two days since your birthday, two days since your father hung up on you. Your room is filled with new books and a toy train set that had been gifted to you, but not even a mailed in card from your father.

You slowly get dressed, hoping that if you take long enough, your father will come home and eat, then leave for work. It's a shame that you only had to slip on pants and a t-shirt, otherwise you could've taken longer.

You creep down the stairs, listening for any voices. All you hear is Nora, the maid (Really, she was your mother's best friend. She just occasionally makes your meals, while still getting a full salary. Your father didn't like her, or more he didn't like how much she was paid), and your mother conversing over how the eggs should be cooked.

"Nora, dear, could you cook his eggs scrambled?" Your mother asks.

You walk into the dining room to see your mother reading the newspaper and Nora turned to her.

"Well...I thought he only liked sunny-side up? Are you sure?" Nora gives you a small wave, a smile on her face. You smile back and sit at the table next to your mother.

Your mother nods, waving her hand in the air. "If he asks, it's because we forgot. And make the coffee watery, I've decided that I like coffee now and I prefer it extra weak."

Nora gives your mother a tight smile before moving to the coffee maker. She makes a full pot but only puts half a scoop of coffee grinds in the filter.

"Mom? He'll probably get mad..."

Your mother just looks at you from behind her paper, a smile on her face. "Then he should be here more often to help make decisions," She straightens out the sleeve of your shirt. "Here's a lesson, sweetheart, if you want something done right, you do it yourself. And it's awfully hard to do things yourself when you're absent from home..."

You just nod, not knowing what to say. The dining room and kitchen are both clouded with a haze from the grease that the eggs were cooked in. Nora looks at you and smiles, her crooked front tooth on display. "Breakfast should be ready in a moment. If you grab a glass, I can get you some juice."

You jump down from your seat and get 3 glasses from the cupboard. One for you, your mother, and Nora. Reaching into the fridge you pick orange juice, knowing it's your father's favorite. _'Will he get upset if we drink all of the juice?'_

Your mother sees what juice you've picked out and claps her hands in glee. "Oh, how'd you know?! I was just about to ask that you choose orange,"

Nora laughs while looking at your mother, her eyes crinkled from her large smile. "You're so petty, you're passing it on to your daughter."

Nora plates up the food and you pour the juice. Nora brings the plates into the dining room and sits down. "Oh Nora, sweetie. Just sit here, he won't mind."

Your mother pats at the seat at the head of the table, your father's spot. Nora looks up at her and slowly nods, picking up her plate and switching seats. You eat in silence as you listen to your mother and Nora talk, mostly about adult things. Once everyone had finished eating, Nora grabbed the plates and set them in the kitchen sink.

Just as she was about to sit back down, your father walked in the door, throwing his bags on the floor.

"I'm home!" He holds his arms open, waiting for a hug from you and your mother. You don't look at him, opting to look down at your socks.

Your mother just stares at him, sipping on her juice. "We've already eaten." She takes another sip of her juice. "And it looks like you'll have to drink coffee this morning. _Sorry,_ "

Your father looks over to the coffee pot, noticing that the coffee was almost clear. Like water with an extremely light brown tinge to it. He rolls his eyes before sending Nora to take his bags to your parent's room. He takes a seat at the head of the table, grimacing when he sits down.

"Why is my spot warm?" He inquires, whipping his head over to your mother. Your mother snorts and turns the newspaper, trying to pretend that she was looking at the obituaries.

"Answer me. Why is my-"

"Why are you being so mean lately?" You ask. "You're not being nice to her and you skipped my birthday-"

Your father holds his hand in front of your face. "Stop. Now."

Your mother throws down her paper and glares at your father. "Oh for fuck's sake, let her be. Just be glad I raised her to be as polite as she is...who knows how she would've turned out if you raised her." She spits out.

"What did you say to me? I paid for her childhood, much more work than 'raising' her!"

Your mother ignores him, her voice getting louder. "She probably would've ended up like you; a crude bastard who's obsessed with people that couldn't care less about you! You think those Eldians give a damn about your existence?"

Your mother is yelling now, her hands waving around and her emerald earrings catch the sunlight. She reaches onto her left hand, throwing down her diamond ring.

You sit there, watching as your mother's ring lands in your orange juice with a small 'plop'. She stands there breathing heavily from yelling so loudly. "You pay more attention to them than your daughter. You even give more attention to that _whore_ you were cheating with,"

Your eyes widen as you listen to their conversation, realizing that your parents had forgotten you were there. Nora walks around the corner, pausing when she sees your parent's state.

She walks in and grabs you by the shoulders, taking you outside with her. "Why don't we go for a walk, yeah?"

You slowly nod and walk with her, passing some neighbors as you walked. You had been gone for maybe 15 minutes before Nora started walking back home, holding your hand as you walked.

"It'll be okay," She speaks, her voice soft. "I'll make sure you're okay, alright?"

You nod, squeezing her hand. As you walk up the driveway you can hear yelling from inside the house. There's a loud crashing noise and then shatter, like a plate breaking.

Nora sits down on the doorstep in front of the house, patting the spot next to her. You sit down with her, listening to the muffled yelling.

"I've been waiting for this to happen, you know! You think leaving us all the time was something you'd just be allowed to do?" Your mother's voice is hoarse, similar to how your father's was when you talked on the phone to him.

"It was for work, you know that! What do you expect from me?"

"Work doesn't come before your kid! It was her birthday and you called her a loser? She had just turned 8!"

"And I meant it! No child of mine will associate with _them_! And you've known that since the beginning,"

"She's your child. You can't go back in time- she met them and talked with them, oh well! Get over it and move on, you don't need to degrade her for a decision _I_ made!"

"I'm not the only one who thinks this though, even Lisa-"

"Who's Lisa, you asshole? Were your wife and kid not enough for you?" Your mother laughs dryly, starting to cry through her laughter. "I bet that bitch was no more than 10 years older than your daughter!"

There's another crash, then a yell from your father. "Oh _please_ , I wouldn't do that. She was a coworker. And she's at least 20-" His tone is mocking, but anyone could tell what he meant, even you.

You hear your mother scoff and can almost picture her putting her hands in her hips. "Just admit it, you cheated on me with a woman half your age! You fucker- I'll kill you and then your underage escort!"

Your father laughs, speaking through his chuckles. "You'll kill me? I should kill you for what you did to our daughter! Making her stoop to your level, acting all petty!"

You hear another crashing noise and then a hard slam. "I let you do a lot of things, but you won't insult _my_ child. Go pack your shit and leave!" Your mother yells. "Let's hope the door hits you on the way out!"

You look at Nora who's covering her mouth with her hand, her delicate fingers gone rigid and stiff. "Oh, dear..."

You grab her hand and pull her inside the house now that the yelling is over, stopping in the entryway. Your mother is standing at the base of the stairs, fiddling with the edges of her sleeves.

"What do you feel like having for dinner tonight, Nora? You can pick anything," Your mother says, her voice sounding small compared to how she was yelling earlier.

Nora gives your mother a small frown. "Are you sure you should be worrying about dinner right now?"

Your mother nods and pets your head, feeling your hair. "Yes, I want to make sure she eats tonight."

Nora nods and goes into the kitchen. "Alright...I suppose I can make a grocery list."

Your mother kneels down, going face to face with you. "If you want to say goodbye to him, you can."

You shake your head and hug your mother. "He was being mean to you...I don't want to talk to him right now,"

Your mother gives you a small laugh before hugging you back, rubbing small circles on your back. "Okay, then. You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

\---

That was the last time you saw your father alive. The next time you saw him, he was stiff and in a casket.

"Why does he look like that...? His hands..."

Your mother clicks her tongue and leads you away from his casket, letting the people behind see him. "Let's go sit down. I'm tired of standing,"

She adjusts her hat and sunglasses before walking to the back of the chapel and taking a seat. She was dressed beautifully as usual, a long black dress, black hand bag, a black sunhat, and sunglasses. She scanned the room before pulling the memorial card out of her bag, flipping through the pages and scoffing after reading each one.

Your mother passes it over to you once she's finished reading it. You flip through it, stopping at a picture of you and your father, one of the only ones your mother was able to get.

Underneath the picture in italic letters was his cause of death. You felt your stomach churn and closed your eyes, passing the brochure back to your mother.

\---

_He was assassinated on January 12th, 840. He leaves behind his widow and daughter. He will be missed dearly._

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the marriage issues happened all at once- anyway, stan Nora


End file.
